PKN Orlen — Fuel station network rebranding with +20% sales
Orlen — a new entity created from the merger of Petrochemia Plock and Centrala Produktow Naftowych (CPN), destined to become a key player in the Polish petrochemical and fuel sector with an extensive nationwide network of fuel stations.
Two previous attempts to build the brand and its visual identity ended in failure. The hastily conducted logo competition produced only a black eagle head emblem without lettering. Image-building attempts were unfavorably received by representatives of both merger parties, and trade union representatives protested. Meanwhile, foreign competitors were building modern fuel stations on the Polish market. The lack of a refined brand mark was delaying promotional activities, and there was no concept for rebranding the merged fuel networks.
We developed a comprehensive brand strategy and complete rebranding program: post-competition emblem correction with lettering and color design, brand symbolism and allegory, fuel station network architecture and visual identity design, corporate visual identity design, a full implementation program with prototypes, pilot programs, and author supervision, research in psychology and ergonomics of vision, internal communication programs, and extensive documentation (Visual Identity manual, Fuel Station Visualization manual, Procedures manual, Pilot Program guide, and Brand Symbolism preamble). Fuel stations after rebranding recorded an average 20% increase in sales, and the new brand became a symbol of positive qualitative changes. The value of the work is evidenced by over a decade of continued use of the image concept with only minor corrections.
